What

Submit a poem that follows the format (rhyme scheme, length* and meter) of one of the model poems below that coincides with your age group. We allow up to five entries per student. For this year’s contest, we’ve selected poems by famous English poets from the Romantic era of the 19th century. Their poetry is often characterized by imagination, emotion, love of nature, and simplicity of expression.

*For categories 2 and 3; your poem(s) may be up to 3 stanzas longer than the model poem.

Themes

Choose one theme from the list that coincides with your age group and write your poem based on the selected theme. If you are writing more than one poem, you may use more that one of the different theme options.

Category 1: (Ages 7–10: choose one theme per poem)

A Pet

A Person

A Place

Category 2 (Ages 11–14: choose one theme per poem)

Smell

Sight

Hearing

Touch

Taste

Category 3 (Ages 15–19: choose one theme per poem)

Where you are

Where you’ve been

Where you want to go

We try to choose themes that leave plenty of room for your imagination and interpretation. Our goal is to avoid dictating your responses and allow you to think of many imaginative ideas to fit the theme. Our judges love it when a student comes up with something they had not thought of before.

Who

Category 1: Homeschoolers* ages 7 to 10 as of May 1, 2013.Category 2: Homeschoolers* ages 11 to 14 as of May 1, 2013.Category 3: Homeschoolers* ages 15 to 19 as of May 1, 2013.

*For the purposes of this contest, an eligible student must have been home educated in the past year and received a majority of his or her education in the past year through home education.

*The staff and immediate family members of HSLDA and all related entities (PRO, HSF, GenJ) are not eligible to participate in contests sponsored by HSLDA or any of the related entities.

Format and Submissions

Poems must be the work of the student entering the contest. No assistance of other parties, including but not limited to editing or proof reading, is permissible.

The poems should be typed in at least 12 point font and single spaced, with a double space between stanzas. Parents may type poems for young students who have not yet learned to type.

Each poem must have a title.

Each author may enter up to five poems. Each poem requires a separate entry fee.

Only one poem per page.

The student’s phone number should appear at the top of each page. NO OTHER from of identification should appear on these pages, to ensure the judging is anonymous.